One of the wrestlers who thrived during the ‘Divas Era’ of WWE was Dawn Marie. Although she did not win any championships, she had a memorable run in the Stamford-based promotion. Marie recently opened up about her thoughts on Vince McMahon and the recent allegations.
While speaking on the Wrestling Then and Now podcast, the former WWE Superstar spoke about Vince McMahon. She also mentioned that she had to call McMahon after her lawsuit to inform him of the tragic passing of WWE legend Captain Lou Albano.
Dawn Marie was released from her WWE contract in 2005 while she was pregnant. Dawn ended up suing the company for wrongful termination. However, she says that the lawsuit was just business, and Vince ended up telling her how he respected how she handled things.
“He [Vince McMahon] fired me when I was pregnant or because I was pregnant. That’s a whole another story. But again, I guess I’m just that person. That we handled it, it was business. And that’s it. Years later I actually had to call Vince for something. I had to tell him that Captain Lou had passed. His family wanted me to call him and I did. It was so funny, it was the first time ever since the lawsuit. You know, I walked out on Vince twice in mediation… He had his lawyers. But I walked out twice. I was like… That’s a whole other story.
That phone call was the olive branch between Dawn Marie and Vince McMahon
“So anyway, he… I called him for Captain Lou, and told him. And he was like, ‘Oh, okay.’ Then we were talking about that and he said, ‘You know what Dawn?’ He’s like, ‘I have more respect for you today than I did when you worked here.’ I was like, ‘Oh really Vince? Why is that?’ ‘The way you handled your business [mimics Vince McMahon’s laugh].’ I was like, ‘Okay. Well Vince, I have more respect for you too. You actually followed through. And the way you handled your business.’ And we laughed.
“We had a good little laugh and you know, that was the olive branch. It’s just business. Yeah, it is what it is. But like at that time there was like Geraldo and Nancy Grace. And…. I don’t know. They were all calling me. They all wanted me on their shows to shit on them. But I would never shit on the business. Never. I would never. It’s just how I was raised in the business. You don’t shit on it. By shitting on the business I’m shitting on everyone that came before me. How dare I? I can’t do that. So I just handled my business and that was it. I never went public. I never cried about it. No. I did not want to do that.”
Dawn Marie has nothing but respect for Vince McMahon
“Awesome [working with Vince McMahon]. It was professional. He was always respectful. I’ve had my lawsuit with Vince afterwards and I had my own issues with Vince. But I have nothing but… I almost feel weird saying it. Like, when I worked with him I had nothing but respect for him. Even after the lawsuit. Business is just business. You got to just handle it. And the reason why is… Think about it. He ran this huge company, he was at every TV. Okay? The owner, CEO, whatever, all of it.
“And you know what? I can knock on his door at any time if I had a question or a concern. And I would be allowed in. To talk about the wrestling. I’m not saying I had 15-20 minutes. You know, make a point, get out. But he always was available. And I had nothing but respect for that. I feel like he never asked at least me or anyone else that I saw, to do anything in the ring or any kind of storyline that he himself or his own family hasn’t done similar. So to me, I have respect for that,” Dawn Marie said.
What are your thoughts on Vince McMahon?
